By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SAN ANTONIO - Will Bynum saw his season ending and there was nothing he could do.

Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt wouldn't put him in the game, so Bynum had to sit and watch as Boston College pushed Georgia Tech to the limit two weeks ago in a second-round game in Milwaukee. Bynum, a 6-0 junior point guard, played just six minutes in that game, but Georgia Tech ultimately prevailed 57-54. Since then, Bynum has played a critical role in getting Georgia Tech to tonight's national championship game against No. 2 seed Connecticut.

He made the game-deciding layup in the Sweet 16 win against Nevada and the go-ahead 3-pointer in the regional final win over Kansas. Saturday, he drove the lane for the game-winning layup against Oklahoma State. But it took a conversation with Hewitt, after the Boston College game, to restore Bynum's confidence.

"I just tried to stay positive," said Bynum, who has averaged 21 minutes since the Boston College game. "After that, I talked with Coach. We had a great conversation. You can see the outcome."

"I didn't come near him in Milwaukee," Hewitt said. "I knew better to stay out of his way then. We got back to Atlanta and then had that conversation."

MAKING HIS POINT: Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun knew how talented his team was all season, but he got disgusted with its effort during a 13-point win against Miami (Fla.) Feb. 18.

Calhoun derided his players throughout the game so much that they expected him to launch into a verbal tirade in the locker room after the game.

Instead, there was laughter.

" 'Did you see what a fool I was, yelling and screaming at you guys with an 18, 19-point lead, because you weren't enjoying what you were doing,' " Calhoun told his team then. " 'I love this game. I love the passion of the game. I love working hard. All I'm asking you to do is to meet me halfway, meet me halfway.' It hasn't been magical, but we've won an awful lot of basketball games since that time."

OPEN HOUSE: Georgia Tech center Luke Schenscher is from the small Australian farming town of Hope Forest in south Australia.

"We've got a farm out there of about 5 acres," Schenscher said. "We've got sheep and ducks and chickens and that sort of thing. Our next-door neighbors have a dairy farm."

Today, Schenscher's family expects to have most of Hope Forest at their house watching the game.

"One of our neighbors, their family has lived in Hope Forest for ... like 100 years or something like that," Schenscher said.

"They've just been there forever, and he said 'You're going to make a name for Hope Forest and people are going to know where Hope Forest is,' and he's real proud of it."

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com